REVENGE OF THE SITH

Part I – Aftermath

It was dark out. Dark and extremely quiet. On the planet below, nothing moved and nothing stirred, but there were bodies. A lot of them. The smell of death and decay was heavy in the air and clouds of fog hung over him. He was confused, he didn’t know where he was.

And he didn’t feel well. Every time he walked, something crunched under his boots and once, when he looked down, he could see he was walking of bones. Bones of the dead. It was stifling; it felt as though the planet wanted to smother him as he stood upon it.

His head was pounding and he ended up crashing into a puddle on the ground. He lay for a second before realizing what the puddle was. Taking in the smell and the feel, he immediately jumped up.

Blood. He had fallen on blood and when he looked around, he could see a lake of it. A lake of blood and he had been swimming in it.

Force, where the hell was he? He felt, rather than heard, malicious laughter all around him. He saw storm beasts standing around, laughing at him. All of a sudden, the planet gave a vicious shake, causing the storm beasts to fall, but leaving him standing.

He felt panicked. Where was he? How did he get here? What happened to all these people? Looking around, he saw a variety of them. Republic soldiers and officers, Mandalorians, and Jedi…all dead. All…wait!

Did he just see a movement? No…he couldn’t have…he shook his head. He continued to walk around, fear gripping him.

“Do you feel it, my master?”

He stopped, the hairs on the back of his neck at a stand still. It couldn’t be. He was dead. “You’re dead.” he whispered. The metallic sound of evil laughter filled him with iciness.

“Are you in denial?” the voice continued. “Is the mighty Revan afraid to face his apprentice, his dead apprentice?”

Revan gulped, but slowly turned to face the man. He was startled, finally falling back on his behind and scrapping his hands on the torn ground. The face of Malak stared back at him, but not the friend he had known and certainly not the student he took as his apprentice.

No, this Malak was…he couldn’t even think of a word to describe him. His face was the pale he remembered from their last battle, his eyes were a darkened blood red and the tattoo on his head appeared to be pulsating. But the thing that truly frightened…no repulsed him…was the fact that this man had no mouth.

Malak appeared to him without his metal prosthesis and therefore, with only a partial of his face intact. Revan crawled away from him quickly. The former lord laughed. “Does my appearance not please you?” he chuckled. “After all, it was you who did this to me!”

Revan shook his head forcefully. No, he couldn’t have. “Oh, but you don’t remember…” Malak said, chuckling as Revan tried to stand and run, only to be caught by the dead bodies that stood behind him. They grabbed him, ignoring his screams, and turned him to face Malak.

“I think, as a loyal apprentice, I should enlighten on what you’ve done…” Malak approached the squirming Jedi before placing a hand on his chest and using the Force to reveal to him all that had happened…

He stood before Malak and Saul Karath, who awaited his word. Then without provocation, in one quick moment, his lightsaber was in his hand and it was slicing through Malak’s face. The young man cried out, clutching his mouth, blood flowing though his hands. Karath had managed to jump out of the way as Malak’s bloody jaw came hurling towards him…

He stood at the helm of a ship, body tense and mind whirling. A Republic officer stood beside him, head bowed. “All those people…” she said, shaking her head. “All those innocent people. And you’re that was the best course of action?”

A Jedi stood against the wall, chained, and looking worse for the wear. A young man smiled at him; an evil smile; a deadly smile. “Shall I?” he asked. He must have nodded because the man walked over to the Jedi and began to do…unthinkable things to him…

Revan shot up in bed, sweat pouring from his face and his heart beating wildy. He’d had it again; the same nightmare that plagued him for months now. Every night it was the same, but the images Malak showed him were always different, more horrific than the next.

It had been well over nine months since he began having them and seven months since he had seen his beloved Bastila. The council always told him that she and Jolee were fine, but they still would not tell him where they were. He must’ve looked dreadful the last time he entered the council chamber because some of the masters had commented on it. He of course shook it off, told they he hadn’t gotten a good night’s sleep, but he could feel their fears of him.

They thought him on the dark side again and quite frankly, he didn’t care. He would no longer be in the Order as soon as Bastila returned, but perhaps the masters were keeping her away. Knowing Bastila, she called in every week to them on their progress and he was sure it was possible the council sent her and Jolee on mission after mission just to keep him there.

Ever since she had left, his nightmares seemed to be getting worse and now he was worried. He needed Bastila; or Carth or Jolee to discuss this with. Canderous, the softie, had seen his friend’s despair and had taken him drinking in the cantina. He even provided him with a good fight in the dueling ring.

And that’s all he had done. Drink, fight, sleep…all the same. It was too much for him; much too much. He didn’t know how he would cope without her, without Jolee’s guidance…Juhani had made him meditate with her, to no avail. He couldn’t shake the images he had seen, so he had given up. But he thanked her for her time and all.

Just when he thought he would lose all hope and happiness, he received a call from the transmission operator, who informed him had a message waiting. Curious, he allowed the information to be downloaded into his data pad and he thanked the woman he had talked to.

Reviewing his pad, he discovered a message from Bastila. She couldn’t tell him where they were, but she did say the council did indeed have her and Jolee chasing leads of some sort.

I miss you so. You have no idea how much. Jolee has been wonderful and has helped me through this. I can’t imagine if I had gone alone. I love you and I will return to you. I promise you, my love.

Bastila

He read the message over and over, just glad to have something from her. That night, he slept with it under his pillow, hoping it would chase away his nightmares. For one night, he hoped to dream of her, to dream of a future with her by his side. For one night, he just wanted peace.

He sat on a chair…no, a couch in a moderately decorated living room. He sat facing a large, circular window and a door next to it. It was sunny outside and the light came drifting in to illuminate the house. “Tell us again, Daddy.” Said a small voice.

“Again!” echoed another.

Turning to his right, he saw a small girl, possibly about five years old. She had curly dark brown hair and a lighter shade of brown for her eyes. She was smiling up at him, holding his arm in a pleading way.

To his left, was a small boy, obviously younger than the girl, but only by a year or two he imagined. This boy had dark hair, short and spiky in the front. The thing that stood out about the boy was his baby blue eyes.

“But I’ve told you that story at least a hundred times.” He sighed, but with a smile on his face. “Don’t you want to hear about the time me, and Jolee, and Juhani ran into a temple of dark Jedi?”

“No!” the boy whined.

“We wanna hear how you met Mother.” The young girl stated, her face one of stubbornness that she must have inherited from him.

“The first time?”

“The second time.” She said.

“Second time!” the boy exclaimed.

“Okay,” he relented, shaking his head. “As you know, I rescued her from these bad men who were planning on selling her…”

“That’s not what Mother says.” The girl replied.

“Oh?”

“She says she rescued you.”

“Nuh uh!” the boy cried.

“Yes too, now hush.”

“Hey,” he said, looking at the two children. “You want to hear this or not?” Both children nodded. “Okay, then. Now…your mother and I have different accounts of this, but from my point of view, I rescued her. If I hadn’t won that swoop race, she wouldn’t have been free.”

“But Mother says that she easily freed herself and stopped the bad men from hurting you.” The little girl replied.

“Yes, well…”

“And further more,” the girl continued. “She said that you were so…o…over…”

“Overwhelmed.” He supplied.

“Overwhelmed.” The girl repeated. “That if she hadn’t saved you, you might have died.”

“No!” The little boy hugged him tightly, burying his head in his side.

He laughed. “That’s what she said, huh?” The little girl nodded. “How about this? We saved each other from certain doom. And I’m glad, cause then we wouldn’t have fallen in love and had the two of you. Happy now?”

The little boy nodded, but the girl gave him a curious look. “You missed something.” She said. “But I don’t remember what.”

He laughed, pulling her into a hug and kissing her forehead. “How about I tell you when Jolee, Uncle Canderous, and I went to the Manaan?”

“The place with the fish people?” the little boy asked.

“They’re called Sell Kits.” The girl protested. “Huh, Daddy?”

“Selkaths.” He corrected. “But yes, the underwater world. So when we got there, I was very sad because Mother wasn’t with us…”

The days turned into two weeks. Two weeks since Revan had received his message from Bastila and two weeks since he had a dream about the two children he was convinced were theirs. The thing that confused him of course was whether or not that dream was a true vision of his future or a wishful hope that he nestled inside of himself.

But since then, his nightmares were at bay and he seemed more cheerful than he had been in months. Juhani noticed a difference immediately when she saw him sitting outside the Jedi Temple one day. She commented whatever demons he had faced must have been resolved, to which he replied, “No. They haven’t, but I am calm for the moment.”

Canderous had taken to solving some of the lesser problems in Coruscant, in his own helpful way of course. Revan sometimes tagged along, if only to ensure the Mandalorian did the job with as little violence as possible. He seemed to spend a lot of his time with Canderous these months, never really coming in to contact with the Jedi or the temple.

Besides, he enjoyed listening to Canderous’ stories of battle and of the clans. Every time they discussed this, the former bounty hunter’s voice seemed to take on a nostalgic lilt and then he would abruptly stop the conversation all together.

Revan couldn’t comprehend why, by he always left with a nagging sense in the back of his mind; as though a thought was there, but he just couldn’t get a hold of it. He also noticed he was getting flashes of images, most notably when he was near the temple and as of lately when he came in contact with Canderous.

He didn’t understand what was happening, but he refused to speak to the masters. They would just tell him it was a side effect of the bond or perhaps the emotional toll of his adventure was finally catching up to him. He needed Bastila; she would help him understand.

Or so he hoped.

The ocean looked lovely, especially at night. The moon would hover over it, casting shadows, but also lighting up the water and the beach. Bastila loved the water, always had since she was a little girl.

Talravin wasn’t a large body of water planet, but she did live near a small lake that her father often took her to. Ever since talking to her mother, she seemed to be missing her home world terribly. And being on the Rakatan planet didn’t really help either.

When she had left Coruscant those many months ago, she had no idea where she and Jolee were headed and it wasn’t until they were well out of the Core system that the newly appointed Jedi Master told her their mission.

They were to scout and help some of the Republic vessels to find remnants of the Sith, something that shouldn’t have taken as much time as they had been gone. But it did take time, four months to be exact, but when they were finished, Bastila hoped they would be heading back.

No such luck.

The High Council wished them to visit Dantooine and see how the situation was there. Both Jedi on board protested; it hadn’t been very long since Malak had bombed the planet and the Jedi Academy and both were unsure if they were really prepared to see the damage. But the council insisted, needing to know what relief would be needed and how much damage was truly sustained.

It had been hard for both, but especially Bastila. She had practically lived on Dantooine for most of her life and to see it as the shell that it was proved to be heartbreaking. Other Jedi were there, also helping with the relief effort. They gave burials to those that hadn’t managed to make it, among those Master Zhar Lestin, Revan’s master twice now in his life.

Another two months there and then another report to Coruscant and yet another mission, this time help the talks between the Rakatan people and the Republic. Bastila admitted her frustration to Jolee.

“Why is the council sending us for?” she had exclaimed. “What expertise could we possibly have with the people of the Unknown World? Hell, I wasn’t even on the planet for more than ten minutes!”

“Calm yourself.” The master had replied, sitting back in the pilot’s chair. “Believe me, I understand more than you know. I can see sending me or Juhani on this, but you’re right. You weren’t even here when we discovered the planet and you truly didn’t get to explore it after the Star Forge. The person the council should’ve sent was Revan.”

“So why didn’t they?” she asked. “Revan is so full of charisma and irresistibly charming…” She trailed off when she heard Jolee chuckling.

“Are you describing a politician or a current love interest?”

She had immediately blushed. Looking back, she could see how she may have gotten slightly dreamy about it, but she couldn’t help herself. She missed him terribly and it had been too long since she had seen him. And hanging around Jolee hadn’t helped.

She had noticed when they had picked up the elderly recluse that there was a slight resemblance between him and Revan. Not that they were related, but they shared the same features. Both were bald, though for Revan it was a choice, while Jolee’s may have biological; they both had the same facial hair design…she had often looked at Jolee as though she was looking at an elder, darker toned version of Revan.

Bastila could see Jolee as an attractive young man, though not nearly as dashing and handsome as Revan…she sighed. She enjoyed being on the planet, she did. And getting a nice surprise as having Carth be a part of these talks was wonderful, but being here made her think of Revan and the fact that he wasn’t here to share in the beauty of the planet.

“Credit for your thoughts?” asked a familiar voice.

“I don’t think you have enough to spare.” She quipped, causing the Jedi Master to laugh right out.

“I think you’ve been spending too much time with Revan.” He retorted.

“Not nearly enough.” She sighed.

Jolee patted her arm. “Now, now, my dear,” he said, sympathetically. “I’m sure he’s missing you as much as you miss him. You know the old saying…”

“Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” She quoted. “My father used to tell me that whenever he went out on a hunting adventure. I always wanted to go with him, but he always said I was too precious to do what he did and then he’d say ‘Don’t worry, poppet’…that was his nickname for me… ‘Absence makes the heart grow fonder. I’ll be back before you know it.’ And then he would leave, but sure enough he was back before I really started to miss him.”

“See there?” he said, patting her arm again. “Don’t worry. We’ll be back before you know it. In fact, while you’ve been out here moping, you’re completely missing a wonderful farewell party.”

“Farewell party?”

Jolee chuckled once again. “Thanks to some stuffy senator, the Rakatans have agreed to be apart of the Republic.” He said, watching as confusion began to turn into realization on her face.

“We’re going home. I just talked to Vandar and he confirmed it. We’re going back to Coruscant to get our praise and for you to get Revan back in your arms or whatever it is you plan on doing to the boy.”

“Jolee!” she said, trying to sound scandalized, but her laughter made it nearly impossible.

“There now,” he said, taking her arm in his. “I was hoping to get you in a better mood. Now I can go back with an attractive young woman on my arm. I’ll be the envy of all those young hot shot officers.”

She was still laughing when they walked back to the outdoor celebration. She immediately spotted Carth, who smiled and nodded at her from his conversation with Adm. Dodonna. Bastila felt happier than she had in a long while, knowing it would only get better once the coordinates for Coruscant had been entered into the nav-computer.

Another week had passed and another few nights where Revan woke up in a cold sweat. The nightmares had returned and no amount of wishing for Bastila seemed to help. It was to the point that he never went to sleep at night anymore.

He’d keep himself awake with large amounts of caffa and then turn in as the sun began to rise. He knew those friends that were left were concerned, especially when he saw Juhani talking to Canderous one day, knowing those two had never said more than two words to each other while they were together.

Even he realized he wasn’t looking well or feeling well, for that matter. He had gotten numerous calls from the council, wanting to see him, but he never answered them. Never acknowledge their presence ever. As far as he was concerned, they were the cause of this.

It became a struggle for him; his anger beginning to grow and the darkness that still surrounded him begged to be free. It seemed the only times he could find peace was with meditation and even that was hard to do, as it let his mind wander and sometimes it wandered into uncharted and often, forbidden, territory.

And that was his ritual today when someone buzzed to be let in. He had just awoken, finding it to be early afternoon, and he had immediately sat down to clear his head. He hadn’t been sitting long when he realized he had a visitor.

Sighing, he called for the caller to enter. Some part of his mind warned him about this; that this could be an assassin to kill him, but he ignored it; in fact, he slightly welcomed the thought of an armed assassin, though he figured it would be hard to get pass HK. He continued to sit in his meditative position, eyes closed. He didn’t react when he felt the presence of someone standing over him.

“I’m fine, Juhani.” He said, automatically. “As you can see, I’m meditating to calm myself and find a center. If you’re Canderous, I don’t feel like drinking at the moment or even doing some bounty hunting on the side, but thank you for thinking of me.”

“You’re usually more alert than this.” The voice replied. “Judging from your appearance, you’ve had a rough go of things. You look like something a bantha would throw up. Maybe not even a bantha. Possibly a rancor and you know how they eat.”

Revan’s eyes popped open in surprise, realizing who his visitor was. Looking up, a smile came to his face and he exclaimed, “Carth!” before jumping up and hugging the pilot. He let go soon enough of course, coughing and patting him on the shoulder. “Good to see you, Capt’n.”

“I guess so.” The pilot laughed, taking in his friend’s appearance. The vibrant, charismatic, strong young man he knew and had last seen was not the man that stood in front of him. He was growing a partial beard that matched the month’s growth of hair on his head.

His eyes looked bleary and slightly blood shot, as though he hadn’t slept in weeks. He was still dressed in his sleep wear and Carth could tell his young friend had also forgone a number of trips to the fresher.

“You look awful.” He stated. “Are you okay?”

Revan chuckled, the sound almost foreign to his ears. He nodded. “Yeah.” He said. “I mean, I am now. You have…no idea…how…”

“Revan,” Carth replied, putting a hand on the younger man’s shoulder. “Honestly. Are you all right?”

The young knight took in a deep breath. He went to answer, but was stopped when HK decided to answer for him. “Statement: The master has not been getting proper downtime, Commander Meatbag. Observation: I have seen him thrashing about in his sleep as well. At first, I was excited; I thought the master was fighting an unknown assailant and I was eager to put a blaster to the meatbag’s exterior, but then I realized the master was just having a vivid encounter with an imaginary enemy.”

Carth looked at the young knight. “I haven’t been sleeping well at night.” He admitted. “So I figured if I slept during the day…”

“You wouldn’t have any nightmares.” Carth finished. “Revan, do you realize how ridiculous a notion like that is? I mean, look at you! You look like death himself!”

“Gee, thanks.”

“I’m serious.” He said. “When was the last time you ate?”

“I ate yesterday!”

“Correction: Negatory statement, Master. The last you consumed editable matter was three days, six hours, and fifty-eight seconds.”

“That long?” Revan asked, glancing at HK. The days, weeks, and months had passed in a blur and he wasn’t even sure what day this was.

Carth shook his head. “Bastila’s going to kill me.” He muttered. “All right then, that’s settled. Go and pretty yourself up and I’ll take you out to lunch.”

He pushed the man towards the fresher, scowling at the fact his friend had deteriorated to such a state. When Revan entered the separate bath facility, Carth turned to HK. “How long as he been like this?”

“Weary reply: Oh, the master has been most distraught since you and the other meatbags departed. Angered sentiment: He has also forgotten to run diagnostic checks on me and the little tin can droid. Exclamation: I am need of desperate repair, I’m sure!”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Carth angrily asked.

“Mocking query: And what exactly would I have done? Soothe him by speaking in his female meatbag’s voice? Rock him to sleep? Retort: Oh, he tried and I don’t believe I have ever been so humiliated.”

Carth sighed. “And the council?”

“Statement: The Jedi Council has made several inquires about the master, as have the Cathar and the Mandalorian. I recorded one conversation from the two of them. Do you wish me to play it?”

Carth opened his mouth to say no, but looking towards the closed door where the fresher was going, he rethought his answer. HK had said Juhani and Canderous had been worried. It would take a lot of worry to make Canderous nervous and even more have the two of them talking to each other. He nodded to the droid, who then set about replaying what he had caught.

”I am very worried.” Said Juhani.

“Yeah?” asked the gruff voice, only attributed to the former bounty hunter. “So why don’t you do something about it?”

“I have tried.” The Cathar sighed. “Aren’t you the least bit worried? I am starting to feel as though…as though he has once again tasted the dark side of the Force.”

“So again, why don’t you tell those babysitters of yours the problem?”

“I do not know why I have bothered to come to you.” She hissed. “I would think your word of loyalty was true when it came to Revan…”

“It is.” Came the reply. “And don’t ever question it again . I’m still on this planet because I can see the haunted look in his eye. Hell yes, I’m worried, but it’s more than your ‘dark side’ that has its teeth in him. And even if he was on the dark side, I’d follow him anyway. To hell and back.”

It was silent and Carth assumed the conversation was over, until he heard Juhani sigh.

Then you have sensed it too.” She whispered. “That there is more to this than we are privy to.”

“He’s a big boy.” Canderous replied. “He’s been this way since Bastila left. If it’s more than that, let him deal with it. He’ll come to us when he needs it.”

“How can you say that?”

“Listen sister,” he growled. “I know Revan doesn’t want to be hunted down and asked what his problem is and if he did, we’re not the ones to do it. Like I said, leave him to himself and he’ll come around. If not, he’ll come to us when it becomes too much.”

“I only hope you are right.” She whispered. “Though I believe your sense of honor is off, but I’ll wait and see, as you suggest. But if it becomes worse…”

“Then bend over backwards, see if he cares.” The Mandalorian laughed. “Do your best, but I tell you, unless your name is Bastila Shan, he won’t notice. Hell, good old Republic will have a better time at it than you.”

Carth looked at the droid, clearly worried. Was his departure really taken that hard? Or was it the combination of everyone leaving fairly close together? Either way, the pilot was determined to find out what had happened while he was gone.

He waited for the young man to finish dressing and shaving before the two headed out. The most logical choice was to head to the cantina, the nicer one that is, and that’s where the two found themselves in the mid afternoon.

“I’m actually surprised to see you back here.” The young knight said, around a mouthful of food. He hadn’t realized how truly hungry he was. “What happened on Telos?”

“Well,” the seasoned officer began. “It wasn’t easy, I’ll tell you that. I mean, I’m glad my son is okay, you gotta believe me on that, but…I don’t know. Maybe too much time has past for things to be the way they should be between us.”

“So things didn’t go as planned?”

Carth sighed. “Let me…let me ask you something.” He said. He waited until he received a nod before continuing. “Do you…do you remember when we left the Leviathan? How…mixed up everything seemed after that? I…I never asked how that hit you.” Revan gave the man a look.

“I mean…I mean I know how it hit you. I was there, remember? We went through two bottles of Mandalorian whisky, which by the way, we are to never again indulge in. But…” he sighed. “I’m really not saying this right.” He muttered.

“Did you ever find out about something so…shocking, so…just…it floors you when you hear it?”

Revan stopped eating to regard his friend. Sighing, he leaned back in his chair. “He told you then?” he whispered.

Carth raised an eyebrow before getting a scowl on his face. “You knew.” He growled. “You knew and you didn’t tell me.”

“Are you serious?” he asked, incredulously. “Did you truly want to know before heading off? Besides, it wasn’t my place to tell you, but you owe me a lot, Carth. The council forbade me from telling you and I did anyways cause you’re my friend and I thought you deserved to know.”

The pilot looked down at his own plate. “Yeah.” He murmured. “You’re…you’re right and I…I owe you an apology. I just…I don’t think my mind has fully wrapped around all this. I…can’t believe…”

“Sometimes things happen, Carth.” He whispered. “Did he…did he tell you what happened? All those years ago?”

“Yeah.” He said. “He…he was at a friend’s when the bombing started. The house…the house suffered some damage. They wanted to leave, but Dustil…” Here he chuckled lightly. “Dustil left, wanting to go back to find his mother. And I…I guess she had the same thought. They never ran into each other. He said…a lot of officers turned on the Republic, I told you that. Some were…friends…family friends…”

Revan nodded slowly. So not only had Carth’s mentor betrayed him, but so had a friend. A large of amount of guilt suddenly hit the young man. He thought of everyone he had wronged, everyone he had hurt with his deeds as Sith lord; he may not know how many he had hurt, but the major offenses were people he had come to call his friends.

The road to the dark side is paved with good intentions. He didn’t know where he had heard that particular wording of the saying, but he felt he could understand it.

“I’m sorry, Carth.” He said, looking down at his plate. He suddenly wasn’t hungry any longer and he could feel those images creeping back upon him. “If it weren’t for me, none of this would’ve happened. This is all my fault.”

“I’m not blaming you for anything.” The pilot replied. “I thought we went over this. Look, you’re…you’re not that person anymore. You’re the person who…you’re the person who lead us to victory against the Mandalorians and again against the Sith. You’re the person I call a friend. Are you guilty about that?”

“No…”

“Look,” he said. “This is obviously still too much for you. Hell, it’s too much for me sometimes, but we make due. We learn from our mistakes.”

“But how can I learn the mistakes of a past I don’t remember?” Revan sighed, clearly frustrated.

“Then you do whatever it takes to find out what you can.” Carth said. “I mean, is knowing who you were gong to help you? Or will it hinder you?”

The young knight shook his head sadly. “That’s just it,” he whispered. “I don’t know. I just don’t know.”

After lunch, the two men stayed to watch some of the dueling matches, but none got as high as to lure Revan from his spectative watch. He insisted on doing some swoop races, if just to relieve some of the tension he felt.

While it was good to have Carth back, he still couldn’t hide the fact that he missed Bastila and wondered where she was. He must’ve looked forlorn because the seasoned officer picked up on it right away.

“I’m not that bad of company, am I?” he quipped. “I’ve been told by many people I’m quite entertaining.”

“By who? A drunk rancor?”

Carth put a hand to his chest. “Ow,” he mocked. “That truly hurts. I might cry.”

“Good.” Revan joked, pointing in front of him. “Go stand on that corner right there with this cup. Maybe someone will take pity on you.” The two men laughed, heading back to the hotel they had been staying. “Hey thanks for coming back and for today and all.” Revan whispered. “I’ve been pretty out of it lately.”

“I could tell.” Carth replied. Turning his head to look at the younger man, he asked, “This isn’t about Bastila leaving is it? I mean, I’m sure some of it is, but not all.”

Revan only nodded. “It’s everything at one time, I guess.” He said. “And to top it off, I haven’t been sleeping well.”

“You look like you did when you were getting visions of the Star Maps.” The pilot said. “Pale and really shook up. Like…like you had seen something horrible.”

He didn’t respond right away, but when he did, Carth almost missed it. “I have.”

It didn’t take long to reach the hotel, Carth taking the room next to Revan as he had done months earlier. When the young man asked if the pilot wanted to have a drinking contest, Carth shook his head, telling him he didn’t want Revan to miss the surprise.

“What surprise?” he asked, eagerly. “You got me a surprise? Where is it? Where is it? What did you get me?”

“Just go to your room and see, okay?” Carth waved him off and shut the door, leaving the young knight wondering what the surprise could be.

He saw HK come around the corner, doing his customary patrols and asked him.

“Statement: Yes Master, there is a surprise awaiting you in your guest quarters, but I am not at liberty to say what exactly awaits you, though I do hope it gets bloody.”

Still curious, but now overly cautious, Revan walked to his door and prepared to open it. Thinking he was now in some sort of danger, he readied his lightsaber and prepared himself to use stasis to immobilize his attacker.

Opening the door, he ran forward, sticking to his plan. It fell short, of course, when the said attacker easily resisted his maneuver, activating Force Immunity and then giving him a look of confusion.

“Is this how you greet all your dinner guests?” asked a voice.

That voice. The one attached to a face he had seen in his dreams; the voice attached to the body of the woman he would kill for, the woman he would die for; and oh that voice. The lilt of her accent on certain words, certain phrases, in certain gestures that were just purely her.

And when he indeed saw that his imagination wasn’t playing tricks with his eyes…in minutes he had her in his arms and twirling her around, kissing every kissable place on her face and neck.

And her laugh. Oh, how he had missed that the most and how it haunted him when he was alone. “Miss me?” she asked, still giggling.

“Like you wouldn’t believe.” He murmured somewhere on the side of her neck.

“I was almost afraid HK would tell you and ruin the whole thing.”

“When did you get here? Where’ve you been?”

“Over dinner.” She said, leading him to the small table, where a modest dinner awaited. “Carth said you haven’t been eating.”

“Carth said…?” he asked, looking at her in confusion.

“And my mother was nearly frantic when you came to see her off the last time.” She continued. “She said you looked like…well, I won’t repeat what she said you looked like, but it didn’t sound very appealing.” She regarded him for a moment. “You don’t look too bad. I do hope you used the Force to heal yourself some what.”

“Wait, wait,” he said, shaking his head. “What?”

Bastila chuckled at his face. “You look a bit like a gizka when you get all confused like that.” She quipped. “Why don’t I answer your first two questions first?”

She began to tell him about where she had gone and why it had taken so long. While she could feel his anger at the council for continuously keeping her away, she tried to soothe him with the knowledge that they tried to come back repeatedly.

She told him that she and Jolee ran into Carth while dong negotiations for the Rakatan world and that they had given the pilot a ride back with them to the planet. She then continued by saying that sometime during their trip, she had contacted her mother and had been increasingly worried when the elder Shan had told her of the knight’s appearance.

“So of course, I wanted to hurry back as soon as possible.” She finished. Leaning over to him, she began rubbing the back of his neck, a gesture he loved for her to do. “I can feel your emotions now, my love.” She whispered. “You’re…confused, worried…scared.”

“I think I’m having visions.” He said, leaning his forehead against hers. “Visions of my past.”

“I was afraid this would happen.” She sighed.

“You knew?”

She shook her head, sending back reassurance to him as his anger level shot up. “I had asked the masters what would happen if you were somehow able to gain your memories back.” She said. “I think they shrugged it off, saying it would be nearly impossible.”

“But they didn’t count on us being bonded.” He concluded.

“That day, on Dantooine when the council made me stay,” she said. “I asked again and thought again that perhaps you be given the knowledge of who you once were. And again, they said no and that unless I put the information to you, you’d never be the wiser.”

Revan sighed, closing his eyes against an onslaught of emotions. “Carth said I had to learn from my mistakes.” He said. “But how can I do that when I only know what I did and not what came about for the action?”

Here, Bastila also sighed. “I think…I can help you with that.” She bent to her left and retrieved a data pad and handed it to him. Revan looked at her perplexed, until he saw what the data pad entailed. It was his life or as close as he could get to it.

It didn’t hold the names of his parents, but it did confirm what was posted in his Republic service record, that he indeed was born on Deralia. He entered the academy at about four or five, clearly one of the youngest to enter and was a padawan at age eight. It traced a Jedi career until he was knighted and on the verge of becoming a master.

“Where did you get this?” he whispered.

“The Temple History Archives.” She stated.

“But…you can’t enter there unless…” Realization hit him as he looked at her. She was blushing, but had a small smile on her face.

“That’s what Jolee and I were doing while Carth was otherwise…keeping you distracted.” She said. “I did all I could to block you so you wouldn’t know I was here.” Gesturing to the data in his hands, she continued. “That was all we could find on you. The same thing with Malak, as though both your files had been…”

“Erased.” He finished. “They have. Master Vandar confirmed it the day you left that the council had our files destroyed when I was captured, for fear that I would discover who I was. Though I think it was more of the fact they didn’t want to acknowledge one of their best managed to be lured to the dark side.”

Though she disagreed, she didn’t correct him on the matter.

Revan sighed, before looking over at her. He leaned over, placing his lips against her cheek. “Thank you.” He whispered. “You have no idea how much this means to me. How much…”

“I know.” She replied. “I can feel your emotions have been…fluctuating.” He nuzzled her cheek with his nose. “You don’t have to tell me now.” She continued, resting her arms around his neck. “Be a good boy and finish dinner. Then you can have dessert.”

He turned his head to kiss her. “And what’s for dessert?” he asked, giving her light kisses on her lips.

She smiled against his mouth. Giving him another, slower kiss, she whispered. “Me.”

Though he made no sound, Bastila felt his mental moan, along with his want and arousal, which shot up at her suggestion. She laughed softly, making a small shriek when his teeth grazed the skin just below her ear.

“Dinner.” She moaned, pushing him away slightly. “Dinner first.” She restated, trying to regain her composure. She knew of course, by his smile and the feelings he sent to her, it didn’t have nay effect on him.

“Why can’t we skip dinner,” he began, kissing a trail from her neck to her lips. “And go straight to dessert?”

For those few moments, Bastila almost gave in, but something overrode her instincts and caused her to pull away. “Eat.” She said, smiling at him. “I want you to make up for the days you’ve missed.”

Revan gave a mock sigh, but there was an amusement to his acting. “Yes ma’am.” He saluted, digging into his food. They ate in silence, a splattering of conversation came and went through the compatible quiet.

“By the way,” she said, interrupting a moment of silence. “I should thank you for what you did for my mother.”

The young knight stilled his eating, his fork only an inch from his mouth. “Uh…” he stuttered. “All I did was allow you to go to Tatooine.”

She gave chuckle. “I meant,” she replied, turning to look at him. “For donating the money for her treatment and helping her buying another house on our home world.”

He tried to give her a confused look, but he could tell she wasn’t going to buy it. Sighing, he put his fork down and leaned back in his chair. “Are you mad?” he asked.

“Why would I be mad?”

The young man shrugged. “It really wasn’t my place.” He whispered, looking away from her. “I mean…I…did it because I wanted you to have the opportunity to make things right between you. Besides, I like your mother.”

“I know.” She said. “She wanted me to make sure to insist that you call her ‘mother’ the next time you meet.” That caused a blush on his face. “How did you know that she needed more money?”

“In a…completely faithful endeavor to get you to like me more than I knew you already did,” he smirked. “I looked up the facility in the Coruscant, as well as the kind of ailment your mother had. I found out that she would need at least five treatments to be completely out of the woods, so…I mean…it wasn’t like we didn’t have any credits and it was for a good cause.

“And before you ask,” he started, stopping her from speaking. “I went to see her while you were gone. I…needed to…talk, I guess. Anyway, she told me she wanted to go back to Talravin for…I think she said sentimental reasons.”

“So you helped her buy a house?”

He shrugged. “The best way to a woman’s heart is through her mother’s affections.”

Bastila raised an eyebrow at him. “That’s not a real saying.” She said.

“So sure of it, are you?”

That caused her to laugh. Leaning over to him, she once again placed an arm around his shoulders. “You’re a remarkably odd man.” She replied.

“I like that.” He murmured, rubbing his nose against hers. “The way you keep changing it up and all. That shows creativity.”

“I am very creative.”

“And beautiful.” He whispered. He reached up, taking a strand of her hair and rubbing it between his fingers. “You’re so gorgeous with your hair down. Not to say you’re not drop dead sexy with it up, just…”

“We’re not going to get through dinner, are we?” she asked, kissing him.

“I finished dinner.” He murmured, meeting her kisses with his own. “I ate all the veggies and everything.”

She giggled at his boldness. “Dessert?” he asked.

She didn’t respond. She did however stand from her seat, holding her hand out to him. “Have I mentioned your assertiveness?” he asked with a smile. “I so love that take charge attitude of yours.”

“Then shut up and kiss me.”

The sunlight drifted through the window above the bed, lighting the room in a yellow and white glow. For Revan, it only highlighted what he had been doing for nearly an hour already. He lay in bed, propped up on his elbow, watching as Bastila slept. He had done this in the past, but now things between them were different – much better, in his opinion – so he had more to think about it, more to ponder.

The fingers of his other hand lightly traced imaginary pictures across her back as she slumbered. The sheets were draped across her lower back as she slept on her stomach, her hair fanned out upon her upper shoulders, her breathing deep and soft snores came from her parted lips.

She was beautiful in the day as she was at night and having her in his bed made that image even better than before. She was his, in every sense of the word now. At some point during the night, as their bodies became one, so did their minds. He didn’t know what it meant or if it really happened, but he knew they had become closer through the ultimate act of love.

He had slept better last night than he had since she had gone on her mission. The nightmares had subsided, at least for that night, but he knew he would need to discuss them once she awoke and he dreaded it.

The images he had seen scared him, he could admit, and he didn’t know what he was more afraid of – the thought that his mind could think up such horrible things or the fact that he may have done the horrible things he had seen. But he knew if anyone could make any semblance of this, it would be Bastila and even if she didn’t have the answers, she could approach the masters and ask them on his behalf.

He sigh, watching as Bastila stretched and made a small noise before shifting back to sleep. Revan silently cursed himself for letting his mood affect her. He continued to watch her, finally leaning over and placing a small kiss on her shoulders.

He eased himself from their bed, smiling at the though of their bed, before grabbing his shorts and pants. He left the bedroom quietly, going over to the console to order up some breakfast. He then went over to the drink replicator and made two cups of caffa. It didn’t take long for their food to be brought up, allowing HK to walk back into the room for his morning report.

“Statement: I have made the designated perimeter checks and this unit can report that no malicious or threatening danger is present, unfortunately.”

“Thank you, HK.” Revan replied, fixing two plates.

“Observation: Master, I can see you are attempting to provide a last meal for the female Jedi.”

“A last meal?” Revan repeated. “HK, breakfast is the first meal of the day. For the most part.”

“Gleeful retraction: Oh, I understand, Master. You are preparing to feed her in order to keep up her strength for more torture. Oh, I knew you hadn’t lost your touch, Master.”

The young knight turned to look at his droid in confusion. “What the hell are you taking about?” he asked.

“Clarification: Why, your torture session with the Jedi Shan. After my primary rounds, I came back to give my standard report when I heard noises from inside your bed chamber. Alarmed, of course Master, I targeted my sensors to increase the volume, in order to sneak up on the intruder that may have attacked you.

“Gleeful response: So imagine my immense surprise when I recognized the intruder as the Jedi knight Bastila Shan. It sounded as though you were truly putting her through excruciating torture, with all her cries.

“Statement: Though I must admit, my favorite part was when you told her you planned on doing this the whole night. Observation: Alas, you didn’t seem to have it in you to go the entire duration of…”

“That’s enough!” Revan squeaked, glancing at the door to the bedroom. The man had never been so embarrassed in his life. He couldn’t believe that not only had HK heard the most…intimate nature of their night together, but the very fact that – so like HK – he completely thought of the most hideous thing to explain it.

“HK, listen to me. First and foremost, I did not torture Bastila last night. We were…otherwise ‘engaged’ with other activities.”

“Query: What type of activities would require your levels to heighten? Not to mention all the sloshing around your body went through, though I am highly interested in knowing what this new type of non-torture this could be.”

Revan closed his eyes, trying to stop the headache he could feel coming on. “HK,” he said, through gritted teeth. “Maybe I’ll explain later, but for now, two things. One, I wasn’t torturing Bastila and two, you are to never tell another living soul about what you think you know. Understand? That’s a direct command, HK.”

“Statement: I understand, Master. Is there anything else I may be able to do? Do you need someone killed?”

“No HK,” Revan sighed. “I am quite content with the galaxy and those in it. For now, go find T3. I know I’ve been lax on upgrading your systems and all, so I plan on making that up to you.”

“Gleeful response: Oh thank you, Master! I had spoken to Commander Meatbag and expressed my sadness at not having had a good servicing.”

The retort that was so prepared on his tongue died away when Revan figured it would only land him in more trouble. Nodding, he watched as HK left the room, hoping against hope no one would come in contact with the assassin droid. Grabbing the mugs of caffa, he slipped quietly back into the room, placing one mug on the stand beside the bed. He got on his knees before her, sipping the hot liquid as he resumed watching her sleep.

She had been dreaming of Talravin when she first felt his presence. It had been some time earlier, when he felt agitated and…sad, but then he changed his emotions, sending his love and reassurance to her. That was some time ago, but she knew he had come back and was watching her sleep.

The ghost of a smile was hinted on her lips, as she stretched and yawned. The ache she felt in her lower extremities caused her some irritation, which suddenly faded when she felt his amusement and then saw a replay of the night from his view. She couldn’t stop the blush that crept upon her, even as she smiled at the memory.

Opening her eyes, Bastila was met with the man she loved, kneeling beside the bed as he drank his caffa and watched her. Gathering the sheet around her, she propped herself on her elbow and smiled lovingly at him. “Good morning.” She said. His smiled matched hers as he returned the greeting.

“Is that caffa?” she asked, watching him take a sip from his mug. He nodded, gesturing his head to the mug that sat beside her. Leaning over, she captured his lips in a soft kiss before saying, “Thank you.”

“Thank you.” He murmured, sighing contentedly. He watched as she took her first sip, stretching under the thin sheet. She turned her gaze back to him, placing the mug back on the stand and lifting her arm in order to rub the back of his neck.

“Did you sleep well?” she asked.

He ran his hand over one of her legs. “I always sleep better with you.” He whispered. “And you, darling?”

“Mmmm,” she murmured, reacting to his caresses. “Very well.”

“Hungry?”

“Famished.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” He grinned, causing Bastila to roll her eyes.

“And I guess you aren’t the least bit hungry.” She retorted.

“On the contrary,” he said, standing. “I’m starving.”

“I knew I was good, but I didn’t know I was that good.” She quipped, smiling up at him.

“Ho ho.” He chuckled, coming over to her. Sitting on the bed, he placed both arms above her head so he hovered over her. “Well, let me be the first to concur, though with some slight variation.” Bringing his lips only an inch from her own, he continued with, “You’re fantastic. No, no, incredible is the word.”

“The feeling is mutual.” She whispered, closing the gap between them.

A few moments later, the two found themselves seated around the small table for breakfast. They ate in compatible silence, but Bastila could tell something was bothering her companion. She remembered their conversation the night before about his having possible visions of his past.

“Revan,” she began. “Do you remember what you said last night? About the possibility of your having visions?”

The young knight nodded. “I’m not sure what’s going on here, Bas.” He said.

“I’m sure I didn’t hear you correctly.” She said, staring at him. “Did you say a few months?” She was shocked when he nodded. “Revan! I can’t believe…wait. That was why you were blocking me at night, wasn’t it? You were keeping me from seeing what you’ve been dreaming about.”

The young man sighed, before nodding in admission. Of all the ridiculous, ludicrous ideas that man ever had, she thought.

Hey! That’s rather harsh and I…Revan looked up in surprise. I can hear you in my head!

“In more ways than one.” He whispered, running a finger down her cheek.

“Back to the topic at hand.” She replied, smiling shyly. “What’re these ‘visions’ like?”

“They’re horrible.” He spat. “I…I can’t even describe them.”

“Then show me.” She said, causing him to look over at her. “Do you remember when I showed one of our visions? You can do the same thing.”

Revan shook his head. “This is a bad idea.” He replied. “I don’t want you to see these. What if the masters are right? What if when you went looking for information, you found a link to my dark side?”

“When have you ever listened to the masters on what they think?” she huffed. “You did not turn me to the dark side. You saved me from it.”

“I don’t want to put you through that again.” He whispered.

Bastila placed her arms around his neck, bringing their foreheads together. “I don’t care what the masters say or think,” she said with conviction. “I know your love saved me. It saved me then and it’ll save me now, if you’re that unsure.”

I’m so scared, Bastila.

I know, my love. I can feel it.

What if…what if what I’m seeing is real? That what I’m seeing is what I’ve done?

Show me, Revan. Let me help you this time. Show me what you see.

The young man closed his eyes and opened his mind, bringing up the images he had been trying to forget for nearly a year. He just hoped nothing would hurt her.

Bastila found herself on a dark and foggy world. Immediately, her heart began to race, as she felt the cold hand of the dark side filling her. It caused her fear, fear that entering Revan’s mind had once again opened the Pandora’s Box that was housed in her lover’s thoughts. The planet was harsh, cracks lined the area she was in and just up ahead, she saw bodies.

Lots of them.

The young woman took a few steps forward, pushing down the fear that was starting to overwhelm her. The planet was horribly quiet and every few steps she took, she could feel the ground rumble with the thumping of the storm beasts that occupied the place.

Upon reaching the bodies, she could see they weren’t just Jedi; they were Republic soldiers and Mandalorian warriors. She wondered if this was the planet she heard the final battle of the Mandalorian War had taken place.

Up ahead, she could see a group of people, or what she hoped were people, just standing around. Upon closer inspection, she could make out Revan as he struggled to get away. There was a figure in front of him; a tall, massive man, with a bald head wearing a red suit of armor with a black cloak.

Bastila tensed immediately. No wonder he didn’t want me here, she thought. His nightmares involve Malak. She knew she was shaking, but she had to get to Revan. Her steps became a run, but before she could reach the group, her world shifted to that of a starship.

She was found herself on the command deck of a ship and from the crew around her, she could tell it was a Republic flagship. Before her, on the bridge, stood three people. Bastila immediately recognized Saul Karath from his side profile, a blank look gracing his features.

Next to him stood another man; a younger man, about Saul’s height, if not shorter. He wore a Republic jacket and black pants. She knew that was Revan. To his right was a woman, who Bastila could see was Admiral Forn Dodonna. She walked closer to them, straining to hear their conversation.

”All those people…” Dodonna sighed, shaking her head.

“This is war, Admiral.” Replied Revan. “We knew there would casualties. It was unavoidable.”

“But that was a city that had yet to be attacked!” she cried.

Revan sighed and turned to the woman…

It was here Bastila could see what had happened. She knew, by just looking at his face, this was close to the end of the war. The people aboard looked drawn and tired, battle fatigued she could readily tell.

But Revan…the young man she now knew looked much different from now, but she could see in his face the turn of events that would take place. His face had gotten pale, ashen really, and those dark eyes were now starting to turn the light grey they had been when she first had seen his face, after Malak had fired on his ship.

”Admiral,” he continued. “I’ve just saved a million people by killing of a few hundred, maybe a thousand. You do want to win this war, correct? Then leave everything to me. When I left here, I discovered something about the Mandalorians that will win this battle for us and the Republic…”

The world of dreams shifted again and Bastila found herself in a darkened room. It caused her some panic, remembering the room Malak had kept her in. In front of her, she easily made out Darth Revan and there was another man, one with short dark brown hair and eyes of the same color.

Even standing from her view point, she could easily drown herself within the dark power that filled the room. Only a small trace of light penetrated it. The two men stood in front of her and she walked around to see what they were looking at.

She gasped when she saw the lone Jedi in the room; not only because of how the young man looked, but because she knew this Jedi. His name was Camden and he had been one of those that had gone in search of Revan and Malak.

He now hung from restraints placed within the walls and his Jedi robes were nothing but rags. She heard the laughter of Revan, which sounded so strange and hollow coming from the mask that identified him.

“Come now, Cam,” he sneered. “Let’s not continue doing things the hard way. In time, you’ll see I’m right when I tell you the Jedi use you and all of their little puppets.”

“I…will…never be a dark sider…” the man spat, his breathing shallow and hard.

Revan looked at the man next to him. “Very well,” he sighed. “I guess I’ll just leave you two alone then. Atton, do make sure you don’t punish him too much.” The man named Atton looked at him in confusion. “Well, at least not for the first hour…”

Bastila snapped back into reality when Revan abruptly cut their link for further inspection. Her eyes were opened and she was looking at the top of his head. Revan was bent over to her, his head coming to rest just near her shoulder.

“I had to make it stop.” He whispered. She ran her hand lovingly over his head, kissing it gently before raising it to look at her.

“I think you are right, my love,” she whispered. “I believe those may be images from your former life, but I can’t string them together any more than you can. I think this is solely out of my hands. You must go to one of the masters for help.” Before she had even finished the sentence, he was shaking his head no.

“I can’t.” he said. “I…there are problems, Bas, ones you know and some you don’t.”

“Enlighten me then.”

“If I go to the masters and tell them this, it’s as good as Corelian pie we’re never going to see each other again.” He stated. “They’ll separate us, you know that. And not for the good of me or you, but for them cause they fear what could happen as long as we’re linked together.”

Bastila said nothing to this. She knew as well as he what he said would be truth. “And…” he continued. “I…may not be part of the Order anyways.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, her voice slightly panicked. Had they exiled him? Them?

He told her of the conversation he had with Vrook and Vandar after her departure and that they could possibly hold him to that if he were to come to help. “But it’s not official, right?” she asked. “I mean, they haven’t said you were out.”

“But I said it.” He replied. “And I meant it. I can’t go on in this place anymore, I just can’t. And I won’t.” He looked at her, knowing his words to impact her. “But I can’t ask that of you. I won’t ask you to join me.”

Bastila smiled at the man. “And I can’t ask you to stay if you do not wish it.” She said.

“What happens with us then?” he murmured, his face saddened at what her suggestion might be.

“Well,” she said, placing her forehead against his. “We continue to see each other, despite what the masters say.”

You seem relieved, my love.

That wasn’t the response I thought you would say. I was worried you might…

Never. You’re stuck with me.

She rubbed noses with him. “Especially now.” She whispered. “They kept me away from you once. It will not happen again.”

Revan sighed, the feeling he felt for her couldn’t be put into words, but he sent the emotion to her and was elated when the same feelings came back to him. “I love you so much.” He whispered. “I was lost without you, I thought I’d never see you again.”

I need you as well, my love. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.

He was quiet for a time, before asking, Do you dream, Bastila? Of all that’s happened?

She didn’t answer him, just hugged him tightly. With a small tug, Revan had her in his lap, nuzzling his neck as he held her. Though she tried to hide it, he could tell she still had her own demons to face and as usual, the council would not be there to lend her the support she needed. “There must be a master we can turn to with this.” She murmured.

Revan shook his head, holding her closer to him. “That’s the problem, darling,” he said. “There’s no master on the council that I trust.”

Bastila sighed. “All except…”

The thought lingered, the two coming to the same conclusion at the same time.

“Jolee.”

After breakfast and a rather personal encounter in the fresher, the two Jedi made their way to speak to the newly appointed Master Jolee Bindo. They were only delayed after a hysterical T3 had stopped Revan with information he had obtained from HK, leading Revan into a rather embarrassing and quite lengthy explanation of the mynocks and shyracks talk.

“That was sweet.” Bastila had said, giving him a smile, an amused gleam in her eye. “It’s hard to imagine our little T3 as a growing droid. Yesterday, it was computer spikes and repairs and today, it’s learning about the differences between mynocks and shyracks. They grow up so fast.”

The two found the Jedi Master in one of the Jedi Temple training facilities, apparently awaiting someone. “Not the people I was waiting for, but it’s good to see you two.” He said, upon seeing the two knights.

“Master Bindo,” Revan quipped, bowing and causing the old man to roll his eyes. “I hope we’re not keeping you from something.”

“Bah,” the old man replied. “I’ve already been waiting for a good five minutes. I can take some time and talk to my favorite love birds.”

“Favorites?” Revan asked, smirking. “I’ll remember that in case you stiff us on a wedding present.”

Bastila slapped his arm, but was quickly trying to keep her cheeks from turning red. “Jolee,” she began. “We have a slight problem we were wondering if you could help us with.”

The young knight began to tell the elder Jedi what Revan had been dreaming about, the young man adding bits and pieces when he could. When they finished, both Jedi could see their problem not only intrigued the master, but alarmed him as well.

“You’re right to keep this from Vandar and all the others.” He stated. “You’re already in enough trouble with what you’ve said and your actions, Revan, not to mention a little rumor that you’re leaving the Order.” The old man stopped the younger one from commenting. “I wouldn’t blame you,” he said. “But I ask that you at least think about this before you do it. As for what you’re dreaming…”

Jolee sighed, a sad look on his face. “I’m with Bastila on this.” He replied. “I believe you are having visions, but even more than that, I think your memories may be returning. Now, I can’t be absolutely sure on what’s going on. I wasn’t there during your ‘rehabilitation’, so I can’t say if these are just things coming out because of our adventure or if you’ll fully recover all your memories.”

Revan was extremely worried. If his memories were coming back, as Jolee believed, what else would come back? Would he fall once again? Would he get his dark side powers back? He had heard Sith Lords had terrible powers, worse than most of the dark energy that flowed through the dark Jedi under their banner.

That won’t happen, Revan. You know it won’t.

How do you know? How do you know, Bastila, that I won’t fall back to what I was? The monster I had been?

I won’t let you. I’ll never let you fall again.

“I wish I could give you more information, my boy.” Jolee sighed. “But whatever fears you have, you shouldn’t. You’ve got a lot of good people behind you and who love you to make sure you don’t walk the path of a dark lord again. We won’t let it happen.”

Revan blushed slightly, not use to conviction of Jolee and Bastila. He wanted to believe them, but it seemed the confidence he had strongly projected during their quest had quickly dissolved once they hit Coruscant.

Since his nightmares, he felt unsure of himself; not knowing what he could be capable of or what he had done in his past. He felt Bastila give her support of him, whispering words of love through their link to him. Shaking himself out of his darkened thoughts, he finally asked something he had wanted in all those months.

“So Jolee,” he asked. “The council said you were getting a padawan. Any idea who it is?”

Bastila and Jolee looked at each other, watching to see which one of them would answer that question. They were saved from the task when someone cleared their throat from the doorway. Turning, the three were met by a young man with black hair and brown eyes.

He wore the robes of a padawan, lightsaber dangling from his belt. The young man’s gaze was clearly locked on Revan and the young knight couldn’t help but stare back, wondering who this boy was.

“Speak of the…” Jolee cleared his throat, stopping whatever quote he planned on saying. “You’re a little late, aren’t you?” he addressed the young padawan.

The padawan bowed, his eyes quickly leaving Revan’s to glance at Jolee’s, but they were soon once again locked on the former lord of the Sith. “Forgive me, Master.” He said. “I got a little lost.”

Revan smiled. “Well,” he said, taking a step towards the young man. “I’ve certainly heard a lot about you from your dad.” He extended his hand for a handshake.

He wasn’t expecting the left hook to his face. Technically, he wasn’t even expecting the young man to return his handshake, but the punch to his face was a little more than he expected. “I guess I was kinda expecting that.” He said, rubbing his jaw a little. The next was a right upper cut that actually pushed the young knight back a bit.

“Dustil!” Jolee exclaimed, readying to throw some sort of protection towards Revan, but the young knight shook his head.

“You want to have it out with me?” he asked. His emotions had been all over the place for these last few months and his frustrations had suddenly mounted thanks to knowing what the council had done to him and would do if he ever approached them about what was happening.

Revan had never backed down from a fight, even when he lost, he had never and probably could never, just walk away. And if Dustil wanted a punching bag, Revan was glad to oblige, as long as he got his licks in as well.

The two ignored the protests from Jolee and Bastila as they circled each other. Dustil again went forward with his right hand, only to miss and catch a left by Revan to his stomach, causing him to double over. That of course didn’t stop him.

He used his disadvantage to an advantage by tackling the young knight to the ground, throwing Revan off balance. Dustil then began a flurry of punches, only to be thrown back a few feet away.

“You didn’t say we could use Force powers!” the padawan exclaimed.

“I never say we couldn’t.” Revan replied, readying himself for Dustil’s next attack. And he was not disappointed as the former Sith apprentice tried to strike him down with Force Lightening. Dustil was stunned when the attack had no effect.

“It’s a shame the Sith didn’t get around to teaching you the power of Force Immunity.” He smirked.

“But I see you were so special to be granted that honor, huh, Darth Revan?” the boy spat. “Do you truly think because you’re within the Jedi Temple, you’ve been absolved of your crimes?”

“Do you, padawan?” Revan shot back. “Last I heard, you were a cowering Sith apprentice. Or did you even make it that far?”

The padawan once again charged at the young knight, the latter catching him and doing his best to wrestle him to the ground. Bastila looked at Jolee in horror. “Aren’t you going to stop this?” she asked.

The master sighed. “I admit, they’re hitting below the belt now with the insults,” he said. “But Revan would never hurt the boy. I know that much.”

“Well, I also know that Dustil will kill Revan if we don’t stop him.” Bastila protested.

“I would never let it get that far.” He replied. “Think of this as young Onasi’s first trial.”

The two were still fighting in close quarters, until Revan again used a Force Wave to push Dustil back. The former Sith wouldn’t be fooled twice, however, and he unleashed one of his favorite dark powers: Horror.

He had done it on instinct, but when he realized the former dark lord’s immunity had run its course, he knew it was the perfect thing to do. And it affected Revan immensely. Visions of bodies, blood, and evil laughter filled his head. Things he hadn’t seen in his previous nightmares were now pounding his head for attention.

Dustil stood for a moment, watching as this man, this former lord, screamed in pain. And some part of him, a very large part, enjoyed seeing it. It brought a small measure of validation to him to inflict pain on the man who had given the order to bomb his home world; to murder his mother and once again take his father away.

This man, who had done nothing but kill and maim people, was standing there, reliving every horrible thing he ever did. And that, to Dustil was just the cake. Now, for the icing.

Unclipping his lightsaber, he flicked it on, wanting to finish what he had started for good. If the Jedi never worked out for him, he could at least go back to the Sith and say he had slain the great Revan.

But he never even took a step forward before Revan was standing in front of him, lightsaber only centimeter from his throat. The padawan had so enjoyed his revenge, he didn’t notice Revan recover from the horror inflicted and Force Jump his way to him, lightsaber ignited and poised to kill.

“All right, that’s enough.” Jolee commanded, putting both men in stasis. He had hoped this was just something the Onasi boy needed out of his system, but he never could have imagined that he’d be prepared to raise his lightsaber in cold blooded murder and with two other Jedi in the room!

He walked over to them, waving his hand in order to release them from their immobility. Both young men were still quite angry with each other and ready for another go.

“I said enough, damn it.” The elder Jedi growled. He looked at both, turning to address Dustil first. “While you are in the halls of the Jedi Temple or any Jedi building, you will give each and every Jedi the respect that comes with the title. This isn’t the Sith, Padawan. We don’t fight for survival here or revenge. Be glad Revan didn’t kill you as he could have. And as for you,” he continued, turning to reprimand the young knight.

“I’d expect that kind of behavior from him, but you should know better. I know things are extremely difficult right now, but don’t go making mistakes like this that’ll cost you what you’ve just obtained. I’d hate to see you throw away so much so something so trivial.”

Revan’s eyes flashed and Bastila was nearly sent back with the force of his anger. He glared at Jolee, but his words were directed at Dustil. “I spare you because you’re Carth Onasi’ son,” he growled. Turning to give him a fierce look, he continued with, “But try something like you just did and you’ll wish I had killed you this day.” With one last angry stare, the young knight stormed out, practically yelling through the link for Bastila to stay put.

“Let him go, lass.” Jolee said, taking note that Bastila wanted to follow. “Let him be alone for awhile. In the meantime, I think I might need some help with my new apprentice.” Bastila stared longingly at the entrance before turning her gaze on Jolee and Dustil. While she didn’t mind helping Jolee, she would have rather not have to deal with Dustil, whom she glared at, only to receive a similar stare from him.